"I'm in Tokyo, and this is some kind of movie star comeback system?!"

"Card!

Goto-san, try to control your emotions.

Zhongshan-san, your lines are too fast, slow down the pace a bit.

Today is the day Kumiko Goto joins the cast, and the core actors of the production team have finally all arrived.

Originally, it was thought that this would speed up the filming process, but no one expected that the first scene would be NG five times.

The atmosphere inside the venue was somewhat somber.

Miho Nakayama and Kumiko Goto were both wearing pajamas and standing a distance apart. After the director yelled "Cut," their expressions changed, and they didn't even look at each other.

Zhongshan's lips twitched slightly, his brows furrowed, and he stared intently at the script in his hands.

Goto crossed his arms, glancing at Nakayama every now and then, and rolling his eyes.

Director Endo sighed in frustration, looking at the two people in the room.

Both of them are high-profile figures, so he can't criticize either of them too much.

The two characters in the play already had many conflicts, and now this antagonism is even showing signs of spreading off-screen.

Masatoshi Nagase and Kazuhiko Ohara, who play Sakamoto Yu's two sons, are waiting outside the film set with him.

"Sakamoto-san, the scene later won't be easy to act." Nagase Masatoshi is a year older than Sakamoto Yu, but he is not as popular and can only play the role of the son.

Sakamoto Yu didn't respond; he preferred to stay out of these kinds of things if possible.

Zhongshan and he had just established a relationship and developed some tacit understanding, but he felt that their relationship was not good enough for him to speak up for her.

His relationship with Kumiko Goto has been going on since "One-Eyed Dragon". Although the two have become quite familiar with each other through acting together, he still maintains a restrained distance.

Most importantly, he himself isn't high enough in status. If he rashly steps forward, he'll only cause trouble. Why bother?

He shook his head gently.

Staying here won't solve anything, so we might as well go back to the lounge and wait.

Just as he was about to leave Hitomi Ono there to keep watch while he left, an accident occurred.

Sakamoto Yu's gaze met the director's.

Endo's eyes suddenly lit up as he realized that he had forgotten about him!

Sakamoto Yu often acts opposite Nakayama Miho, and their relationship seems to be quite good;

Kumiko Goto had previously worked with him on a Taiga drama, so they must know each other.

Why not let him have a proper conversation with the two female leads?

That's a good idea, Endo nodded to himself.

Just as I was about to greet him, I looked up and couldn't see Sakamoto Yu anywhere.

In fact, Sakamoto Yu sensed something was wrong the moment their eyes met.

He darted away, and under the questioning gazes of the two actors, quickly walked into the crowd of staff.

He planned to hide first, then sneak back to the lounge.

However, he overlooked his own height. The actor, who is over 1.8 meters tall, was hunched over and hiding behind the staff. This scene was anything but low-key.

Sakamoto Yu was walking with his back bent when he suddenly felt someone pat him on the back. He reached out and waved his hand behind him to signal the other person to stop messing around.

However, the person did not give up and patted it again.

Sakamoto Yu turned his head helplessly, and a cameraman smiled politely at him, pointing to the director, "Sakamoto-san, the director wants to see you."

After this was mentioned, all eyes turned to Sakamoto Yu.

Sakamoto Yu was taken aback at first, then he got up as if nothing had happened and dusted off non-existent dust.

He pointed to the cables on the ground and said, "These cables are just lying here, they could easily trip someone up."

"Everyone, please be careful."

Just as he finished speaking, the cameraman spoke up:

"Sakamoto-san, these lights, microphones, and boom microphones all need to be plugged into the power box for power..."

Sakamoto Yu was speechless for a moment, then nodded helplessly, "I know that."

He sighed silently to himself and walked towards Endo.

Now trouble has come knocking on our door, and we can't escape it even if we want to.

"Director, I heard you were looking for me."

Endo looked at Sakamoto Yu, who had walked up to him, and sized him up.

"Sakamoto-kun."

"Yes."

What were you hiding from just now?

Sakamoto Yu remained unfazed: "I wasn't hiding. I was checking the cables."

Endo glanced at the cables on the ground, then at Sakamoto.

"What are you, an actor, doing checking cables? Do you need to crouch down and hide behind the staff?"

Sakamoto Yu remained silent for a while.

"...This way you can see it more clearly."

Endo stared at him for two seconds and nodded.

"Hmm, what you said makes sense."

"That's right. As you can see, the two actresses aren't getting their emotions out of character. You know Goto-san and Nakayama-san, and you have a good understanding with each other. Why don't you go and rehearse with them?"

Sakamoto Yu lowered his head, looking like he was listening attentively.

"Five minutes, you have five minutes, hurry up."

Director Endo waved his hand and gave the order.

"Okay." Sakamoto Yu bowed slightly, and an assistant immediately stepped forward to lead the way for him.

"Sakamoto-san, would you like to go to Nakayama-san's place first, or Goto-san's?"

Sakamoto Yu glanced at his assistant and silently complained to himself.

It's not like we're choosing a name; going anywhere doesn't matter.

However, on the surface, he feigned deep thought, then gave a polite smile:

"Go find Mr. Zhongshan first, thank you."

The assistant smiled and nodded, then immediately began to lead the way.

He followed behind to the door of a lounge, which had a sign that read "Miho Nakayama Lounge".

The assistant knocked on the door, which opened immediately. The agent, seeing the assistant, assumed it was the director calling for someone, but then his gaze shifted to Sakamoto Yu, and his expression immediately turned cold.

I don't know why, but from day one, this agent treated him like a wolf, guarding against him.

Sakamoto Yu could vaguely sense that this agent treated Zhongshan like a daughter and valued her highly.

Thinking that he was just doing his duty, Sakamoto Yu didn't take it too seriously, nodding and smiling politely.

The agent gave a soft, cold snort, then put on a smile and looked at his assistant:

"Are we about to start filming?"

The assistant shook his head and explained, "The director wants Sakamoto-san and Nakayama-san to rehearse a scene together."

"Rehearsing lines?" The manager looked at Sakamoto Yu, pursing his lips slightly in displeasure. "...Okay."

He reluctantly opened the door.

This is ultimately part of his job, and he has no right to stop it.

Sakamoto Yu nodded politely to him, then stepped into the room.

Inside the room, Miho Nakayama's cheeks were puffed out, and she moved around like a rabbit eating a radish.

Hearing the noise, he turned his head and glanced around. Seeing that it was Sakamoto Yu, he quickly sped up his chewing.

Then he swallowed it down hard.

"Cough cough"

She swallowed too quickly, and her throat felt a little uncomfortable, so she coughed softly.

Sakamoto Yu felt a gust of wind beside him.

The agent swiftly stepped forward, picked up a glass of water, and handed it to her, her voice filled with concern:

"Don't eat so fast, come on, have some water to soothe your palate."

Zhongshan waved his hand to indicate that he was fine, then picked up his water bottle and took a sip. After feeling a bit better, he looked at Sakamoto Yu and asked:

"Did the director send you?"

These words seem ordinary, but what Miho Nakayama really wanted to ask was, "Are you here for work, or because you wanted to?"

At this moment, her tone had returned to its usual coolness. She picked up a piece of bread with her fingers, casually put it into her mouth, and ate it elegantly.

With a hint of inquiry in his eyes, he looked at Sakamoto Yu.

-----------------

(Left: Miho Nakayama; Right: Kumiko Goto)